Monday 11 May 2015

What's this - a new book?

You can't be serious, a book takes years to write. And you haven't mentioned this one.

True, but its been there for many years. I started writing it in 1994. Madness I know. I didn't finish it till 2005 and I let it lie fallow for 10 years. Then a tweet came to me from 12 and a half time zones away asking if I would like to share in the royalties of e-books made from my blog. I listened, and having met Dr. Ravinder Ozha, I heard him say "I want to publish your work as a book which is more handy and precisely approachable for all."

and I thought, why not? perhaps the time is right. So we began with my story, and here it is and I hope there will be more in the time to come.

What 49 intersecting parts in 7 chapters with 7 centers looks like
The story is in 49 pieces in seven chapters so it has 7 centers and of course there is therefore a center of the centers. The story is about Jesus and the new thing that was abroad concerning the Holy in that first century. It's a substantial read, about 72,000 words in 250 pages.

Hear what Dr. Ravinder says of it in his editorial introduction. He correctly assesses that this is a novel about purity. 
Definitely, Bob is a son of Jesus who presented this work for world to get purify. Really, you are going to enjoy each chapter of this novel even I will say each dialogue of this complete novel. Those who do not believe in God still this book is for them because this story is going to give all the answers. For religious readers this is gem of purity. 
Let’s start the process of purifying our self by going through each chapter of this book. Step by step you will feel an inner change as I felt. Each chapter is complete and connected to next one be it Law, Gospel, Sin and my favorite one Sacrifice. Each chapter is interlocked.
(The italics are mine.) I could not ask for such a response. I am deeply moved. In 1 John 1:4, the author says he is writing that his joy may be complete. My joy is complete (but I do have more work to do). No one has ever called me a 'son of Jesus', but listen to this phrase in Hebrews put into the mouth of the Son: here I am with the children whom God has given me. (Isaiah 8:18 cited in Hebrews 2:13, one of the few parts of the dialogue between the Father and the Son in that letter to the Hebrews that is not from the Psalms).

And, friends, do we get 'purify'? Do we get it? Is it not a struggle, even lifelong? But again, 1 John is apposite: (1 John 3:3) Anyone who has this hope in himself purifies himself as he is pure. Raymond Brown points out that this verse is the only verse in the Johannine literature that uses the words 'hope' and 'pure'. There is work for us to do.

I would myself demur from giving 'all the answers' to those who do not believe in God. But that is because I like the questions. (My brother, Bill, taught me this and it was confirmed when I read a little Northrope Frye.) Nonetheless, if someone's question is answered, I would not speak against it. And perhaps only one simple answer is needed for those who do not believe in God (such a simple question - without even a credal statement). That answer is - yes to God. The consequence of the answer is - responsibility. It is clear that such an answer takes elapsed time to work through.

What is tougher is for those of us who have believed perhaps too much about God. There is still a risk that we cannot get out of our prejudices or are blind to them. We go to Church on Sunday but do not understand the policies that benefit us and, as a byproduct, create poverty in our streets. That question remains with us. Again - work to do...

Anyway - do buy the book - you might like the result. It reads well on Kindle. Even on a PC, the software is pleasing to use. Amazon provides a PC Kindle app for free.

You can find it on my Amazon page. You can find it also using any of the links below. Pick your country code... You will find more about the contents of the book there.

Dr Ravinder Ozha is described this way
He is a Hindu Brahmin (Priest). He completed a Master of Commerce degree in 2006 and a Doctor of Commerce and Business Administration degree in 2012 at Ch. Charan Singh University. He currently resides in New Delhi with his younger sister, Advocate, Garima Ozha. 
He is experienced in outsourced business and online marketing and in sharing of some important, inspiring and motivational learning techniques to achieve individual or organizational goals. 
He is a training consultant in the area of solution-centric skills, customer service excellence, Emotional Intelligence enhancement, personal development, motivation, stress management, and thinking power enhancement. 
Dr. Ozha had researched over external affairs and business relations among India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, China, Japan, South Korea and USA.


6 comments:

  1. Will it be available as ePub or PDF, our libraries do not stock Kindle and so my reader does not handle them. (I am not a fan of reading novels on my laptop, I prefer the reflective screen for reading longer texts.

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  2. In principle it is available in both e-pub and PDF. I have been reading the e-pub on my kobo. It is not as good an interface as the kindle on my PC but I don't have a real kindle so I am not sure how well it would compare (and my kobo is an early one). The battery lasts a long time though. That is a fine feature. I have your email. I will be in touch further.

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  3. I forgot to mention - the e-pub version does not handle Unicode well. There is very little of it but there are about 10 words in Greek and Hebrew that cannot be read in this technology at the moment. They are not functional and are explained - though you wouldn't need the explanation.

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  4. Dear Bob, Thanks for your kind and precious words. However, thanks a lot for writing such a wonderful novel 'Seen from the Street'. This world is going to remember you for your work. This is the best gift presented by you under the feet of Jesus. Really, I am enjoying a lot while working with you. It's my pleasure by calling me as an editor of your great work. I am thankful to you.

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  5. Dear Ravinder, it is indeed a continuing pleasure to work with you. I love the new cover you designed. I notice that Amazon has an automatic update capacity on their site, so anyone who has bought the Kindle edition should get the new cover automatically. That will help them since we also added the dates for each chapter, making it easier to integrate the story segments while reading. I worked on that timeline for many years, imagining the births and deaths of all my characters and getting the generations together. Secundus (our narrator in Seen from the Street, writing c117 CE) noted his own generations in another book I am considering:

    These are my generations. Secundus is the son of Tertius in Jerusalem. Tertius was the son of Pistis of Corinth; Pistis was the son of Callistos. Callistos was the son of Alexander in Cyrene. I reach back to Ammon-Zeus. As Matthew also points out, none of these could be born without the woman’s labour, even if the man takes advantage.

    These are the generations of my sister, Prima, the daughter of Ruth who married Tertius in Jerusalem. Ruth was the daughter of Anna of Cyprus, wife of Mnason; Anna was the daughter of Elisabeth in Jerusalem. Elisabeth was the daughter of Maria of the house of Mattan in Bethlehem. Her generations reach back to Miriam, sister of Moses. None of these could
    carry without the man’s homunculus.

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  6. To continue this thread - all formats are now available here. I am inquiring about Amazon. The newest cover and the changes you suggested re adding dates have been published on their site. It takes 12 hours to work its way through their process.

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